and my future was gone. Indeed, that is the truth — thatperson with that future is gone, but I now think I have afuture taking my show around and performing it.”In the years since that first show, Eric has performedA Piece of My Mind several times in Los Angeles. InOctober 2015, he did the show in Palo Alto for the PacificStroke Association’s fall fundraiser. In May 2016 heperformed at a regional stroke conference in MountainView, California. Other shows are being planned as we’rewriting this article. “I’d like to take the show on the strokecircuit, and if there isn’t such a thing, I’d like to developone. A big dream is to go on the road with Kirk Douglas!”UC Riverside has invited him to come back and teach,but he can’t drive because of his left neglect and he simplystill doesn’t have the energy teaching requires. “Right nowhis main job is rehab,” Karen said. “That’s a full-time job.”“It’s like I’m working,” he said. “But right now, mynew career is just getting better and taking my show on theroad wherever I can.”Eric’s advice for other survivors is to work hard.

“I meet people in therapy who say, ‘I don’t want to dothese exercises.’ But therapy is not optional. You have to doit. I met a fellow in rehab who was 12 years post-stroke when

See Eric share some of his story, courtesy of 89.3 KPCC / Southern California Public Radio.